Compressive Behavior of Pieces of Wood Reinforced with Fabrics Composed of Carbon Fiber and Basalt Fiber

Abstract

Given the importance of wood as a building material for hundreds of years, it is often necessary to increase the resilience of existing wood elements. Due to their notable adaptability and high mechanical capacities, materials composed of polymers that have been reinforced with fibers represent a good alternative to traditional reinforcement systems. This study looks at the compressive behavior of prismatic wild pinewood test pieces confined with three types of fabric—one of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and two of basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) featuring two very different grammages. The reinforced pieces attain at least 96% greater resistance than the unreinforced pieces (FC300), reaching as much as 133% more resistance in the case of the pieces reinforced with FB600; however, the ductility of the reinforced pieces is much lower than that of the unreinforced, by approximately one-sixth and one-quarter, respectively. The study also allowed us to conclude that there is no relationship between the mechanical capacity of the reinforcement and the ultimate strength of the test piece tested, but there is a strong relationship between the rigidity of the reinforcement and modulus of elasticity and the ultimate strain of the reinforced pieces.

Keywords

• carbon fiber reinforced polymer
• basalt fiber reinforced polymer
• wood
• mechanical properties
• compression tests